Two more characters for Infamy, Infamy

Here are two more figures for my cohors equitata, a Signifer and a Cornicen.

These figures aren't really necessary to play the game, a Musician (i.e. the cornicen) is a Support option and standard bearers (signiferi) aren't mentioned at all, but I intend to put him to use because, when it comes down to it, why wouldn't I?  I could put him in one of my infantry groups, perhaps or maybe I could even use him as a Status I or II leader support choice

These chaps are wearing bear pelts over their lorica hamata, which was a mark of their status in the century and cohort. 

In real terms, each century had a signifer, but this looks like a far more important piece of kit, maybe the signum of the first century or possibly the signum for the whole cohort, which was carried by the vexillarius, one of the principales, the name used collectively for junior leaders below the rank of centurion.

There were various types of signa. There was the manus, a hand representing the soldier's oath of loyalty, the imago, a representation of the emperor, the vexillum, a rectangular cloth banner, the draco, a kind of windsock with a dragon head, used by cavalry units from the 2nd century onwards and the famous aquila, the sacred symbol of a legion, although auxiliary cohorts didn't have eagles.

The small round shields, a kind of buckler called a parmula, were associated with signiferi and others, like musicians who were carrying something that was cumbersome and which made a larger shield impractical. I have no idea how commonly-used they were in reality, but they look nice on the models. They were also used by the sort of gladiators known as Thraeces, i.e. "Thracians" and were the same kind of shields as were used by  the Velites of the Middle Republican period.

Annoyingly, having photographed them, I now notice the mould line across the mouth of the Cornu. I shall have to deal with that and probably paint the area a darker shade too.